


Secrets

by skillet_779



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Before breaking the barrier, F/M, How Sans got his powers, Pre-Undertale Pacifist Route, Secrets, Swearing, These chapters are long
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-26
Updated: 2016-10-03
Packaged: 2018-08-11 02:18:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7872013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skillet_779/pseuds/skillet_779
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gaster is the Royal Scientist, with Sans as his assistant. When the fallen human is captured (by Undyne and the soon-to-be-very-famous-guard Papyrus) and placed into the hands of Sans, he ends up connecting with Frisk a little too much. Would Sans put his job, his brother, and/or his life on the line just for a girl he met a week ago? Maybe there's a little more too it than he thought. </p><p>(This contains theories of how I believe Sans gained his magic abilities, how Gaster becomes the forgotten scientist, and how Alphys becomes the new royal scientist.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Fallen Experiment

An explosion. Puffs of smoke and red flames filled the air, decorating the nighttime sky. Destruction, the wood walls of the building smoldering in embers, minutes away from being completely destroyed. It was terrible. That building, the work done inside of it! It was all gone! All gone…

The souls. There were souls inside. Oh, so many innocent beings inside, all being burnt alive. Resources tried to splash water onto it, hoping to put an end to the misery this fire had caused. But the hot environment around it fueled the fire, letting the flames reach higher and higher. They just had to wait it out. 

Oh, the innocent beings inside. They would never live to see another day. That royal scientist would never see another day. No one lived. No one survived. Everyone in there was declared dead. At least, that's what the evidence pointed too. 

"Sans!" He rushed into the room, watching his taller friend buzz about. "Today's the day, Sans!"   
  
Sans smiled. It had been forever. They worked on this machine forever. Finally, they could sit back and... well, he could sit back and watch the information roll in.    
  
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Sans asked, walking over to the control panel. He was the one who knew the controls well, he had to build them himself after all.    
  
Gaster turned around, staring at the short skeleton. "Yes, Sans. I need to find out what we created."   
  
Sans flipped the switch up. He sighed. "What if you get hurt?"    
  
"Sans, I'll be fine."   
  
He pressed a few orange buttons, watching the screen burst to life. Energy levels were in check, there was enough carbon in the fuel. Everything seemed to look fine. Yet, he knew none of this would be fine. Something was bound to go wrong. "How long will you be gone?"    
  
"Not too long." He said, collecting his papers into a stack. "A few days maybe."   
  
Sans turned around, partly satisfied with the perfectly normal results from the machine. All he had to do was flip the lever, and the portal would appear.    
  
"Shouldn't you bring something-"   
  
"Sans." He stopped shuffling the papers, staring down at them. "I'm going to be alright."   
  
Sans didn't believe that one minute. Something was going to go wrong. It always did. "But I really think you should-"   
  
"Sans!" He slammed his fist on the table, his back still turned to him. He was breathing heavy, closing his eyes slightly. "I’ll be alright. Why are you so concerned anyways?"   
  
“Remember the trash experiment?” 

Gaster turned around, still irritated. “It wasn't a ‘trash experiment.’ It was test T12-A5.”

Sans smirked. “Which spells trash without the h.”

The ‘trash experiment’ was a destructive laser beam designed to expel the huge amount of trash monsters had left behind twenty years ago. Gaster, disappointed after the machine failed three times in a row, had placed his hand over the laser pointer. Suddenly, the machine went off, Gaster grabbing his hand with his other, leaving two permanent circles in the center of his palms. Everyone gave up with the ‘keep the environment clean’ act, dumping the remaining trash into the Waterfall caverns. 

Gaster scoffed, shoving his hands in his lab coat. “Whatever.” Sans eyed his pockets, smiling. “The point is, I will be alright.”

“You sure?”

Gaster paused. Yes, of course the great Gaster would be alright. There was no doubt about it. Except, maybe he would get stuck. A warm blanket or an extra snack would be nice. It would be nice, but of course Gaster wouldn't need it. Right?

Sans eyes his worried face. “I’ll go grab some stuff.”

Gaster (almost) subtly sighed with relief, pretending he didn't do that. “Alright, if you must. But throw in a few of those chewy chocolate dipped bar things.” He stood tall, his hands still shoved in his pocket. 

“Yeah, sure.”

He started walking out, Gaster throwing tons more ideas at him. “Oh! And that hidden blanket I have. And don't forget the chocolate bar things!”

He laughed, walking out of the lab doors and into the empty corridors. It was a long walk from the lab to the castle, and the lack of decoration in there didn't make it any more enjoyable. 

Sans was the assistant scientist to Gaster. Gaster was a bit careless at times, the greatest example being the ‘trash experiment.’ However, his bright ideas and go to attitude made up for it. Gaster tended to put most of his feelings aside for experiments, always ignoring the big thing that could go terribly wrong. Like this, for example. He didn't even think about being stuck in there if it wasn't for Sans. Hopefully he wouldn't be stuck. It should just be an in and out thing. 

Sans, however, was the complete opposite of Gaster. He was smart, don't get him wrong, but most of his ideas fell flat in the projects they were working on. Sans wasn't even sure how he got this job, his lazy personality and complete lack of drive putting him on the bottom of the job list. Yet, somehow, he made this job within minutes. Gaster even loved him, offering so many welcome gifts to him. He assumed people probably weren't into science as much as he was. 

He wasn't actually sure why he was so lazy. He had a great brother at home who was always moving, always active. Sometimes it tired Sans out just watching him. But, if his brother ever wanted to be in the Royal Guard like he dreamed of being, he was forced to be active. Forced to be strong. Forced to be on time for everything. Sans on the other hand, he wasn't forced to do anything. All he had to do was know what these weird sounds meant and how to fix them. Maybe that's why he was so lazy. 

Sans walked past his little office, pausing before it. He walked in, looking at the cameras displayed on his screen. He wasn't exactly sure when these cameras were set up, he kind of just found them. Him and his brother was strolling around Snowdin when Sans accidentally stumbling across some hidden cameras. He somehow worked them up, overlooking the whole underworld. It was helpful, he could see where people were, watching what that shady flower was doing, see if any humans had fallen down. It was great, really. 

No one knew about the cameras- which was odd seeing that Gaster and Asgore would check up on him every so often. He had that window opened all the time. Maybe someone knew, and just didn't say anything. He doubted it though. If someone were to find out he had these secret cameras, someone was bound to spread word. He just had to keep it a secret for him. 

He hadn't seen anyone on them, which was odd. He normally saw the light blue spear in front of the camera or the wrinkly red scarf his brother wore. Maybe they had their once a year training day today. But he should have known, Papyrus would have been booming about it. He didn't know what was up. He wanted to watch, but he had a job to do. If he wasn't back soon, Gaster would forget, jumping in the portal without any supplies. 

“I said, get down on the ground!” He pointed her light blue spear at the frightened child. She carefully laid herself down, placing her hands on her back. The snow was cold, water beginning to stain her clothes. 

She felt something heavy, yet completely light pounce on her back, rustling with her hands a bit. “Uh, these don't fit.” Their loud voice echoed in the night. 

“Try again.” 

The mysterious body on top of her fiddled around with her hands again, dropping them on her back with defeat. “They don't fit.”

“Fine.” She pointed the spear back at her nose. “Get up.”

The body got off of her, the child slowly lifting herself up off the ground. She held her hands before her, waiting for the next order. They violently pulled her hands to her side, linking them between their arms. The woman on her right held arm tightly, her muscles squeezing her fragile arm. Her left arm, however, was sort of floating. There wasn't any direct pressure on it, but she had a hard time trying to escape the man's hold. It was confusing, really, the man having no muscles on his bones. 

The woman leaned to her right, tapping a loud buzzer. “We’ll be there shortly.”

The machine garbled back, the woman pulling the two. “Common, bugger. Let's go.”

Sans continued down the hallway, stopping in a supplies closet. He picked out a drawstring, and began shoving it full with items. The blanket Gaster requested, a few extra pencils and paper, a good handful of those chocolate bar things. Sans felt like he had put everything in there that Gaster might need. And, as an added bonus, the bag was still incredibly light. Satisfied with his goods, he made the long journey back. 

He passed different rooms, listening to passing conversations between the staff. Pointless stuff really, most of them buzzing about impossible things. 

“Did you hear? We can actually be free.”

“Ha! I knew it!”

“Someone caught them.”

“What a miracle.”

Sans shook his head. There was no way. He didn't see anyone fall on his cameras. How…?

He passed by the King’s room. He had a weird room. Sans was to make him life long golden flowers, ones where they would last year round. It was a simple task, really, he just had to make sure that the flowers were cared for. Asgore did that, every day even, being careful to not step on the flowers laid in the middle of his room. It was weird. 

He continued down the great hall, hearing booming voices. He slowed down, listening from the corner. 

“So, you found one?” His deep voice echoed in the tall ceilings. 

“Yes sir.” He heard a thud. He wanted to see what was going on, but was too afraid to look himself. He knew he would be in tons of trouble if he was caught listening. He really wanted to see what was going on. 

“Ah.” He heard the kind say, hearing his great body release pressure from his grand throne. Sans pulled through the bag, trying to find some sort of reflective surface. 

“So, human.” He punched his words. “Um, where are the wristlets?”

“Sorry sir, but they would not fit its hands.” He stopped, finding a compact mirror he packed just in case Gaster may need to do this very thing… or check himself out. Either or. 

He leaned against the wall, holding the purple mirror out a little ways. He could see the human. 

“How did it get here then?”

“We dragged it here.” Sans watched the two Royal guards, one of which was his brother, stand before the king. The other guard was named Undyne, assigned to teach and train his brother. She was a tough cookie to crack, always having her mind focused on the task, doing whatever it took to complete it. She was a good mentor. 

“Has it struggled yet?”

Sans angled the mirror down to the human. Her head was down, so he couldn't get a good look at her face. How he knew it was a girl was beyond him, the way the human dressed was most like a guy. Blue sweaters with a purple stripe, brown cargo shorts and sneakers. But her short, bobbed cut hair told him otherwise. He wanted to see what she looked like. 

“No, not yet, sir.” Undyne answered, the guard and in training guard stood tall before the king. 

“Human, it is custom to tell you what will happen in the coming future.” He paused, sitting himself back down. The air in the seat escaped with a hiss. 

“First, you will be taken… Excuse me.” The king stopped. The girl raised her head slowly. Sans watched her nervous green eyes stare back at the king. 

“Look at someone who is speaking to you.”

She nodded her head violently. “Good. As I was saying, first, you will be taken to the dungeon. We shall arrange for a cell to be cleared.” He paused, watching the girl lower her head. 

“No… don’t-” Sans whispered, wincing when Undyne stabbed the girl with her spear. She screamed, clutching her side. Sans saw a red liquid begin to stain her sweater. She looked back up to the king, her eyes streaming with tears. 

“Look at me when I speak!” He shouted, sending shivers down the girl’s spine. “We have to notify Gaster of this… thing. Then, he can commence the extraction.”

“Ex-extraction?” Her voice was soft and shaky, her tears choking her up. She kept her eyes at the king, her nerves telling her to look down. 

“Of your soul. We need seven souls to break the barrier you humans imprisoned us in. Once that is complete, we will be free. We need your soul.” He got up again, circling the human. “We already have six human souls. We just need another. That's how you come in, human. We’re going to rip your soul out, and you can help us be free. What do you say?”

The sun shone overhead, giving Asgore’s velvet cap a shiny glow. The girl shook, her hands still holding her side. “No…” She whispered. 

“Ha, no?” Asgore kicked her in the side, Sans fumbling with his mirror. He winced at the sight of it, hoping no one saw the spasm he was having ‘round the corner. 

“No? That's hilarious.” Asgore said again, laughing at the fallen girl. 

“Sir-” 

“What?” He shouted, staring down the now nervous guard. 

“I think there's someone else here.” She said, pointing to the corner. Asgore scoffed. 

“Check it out then.” He turned back around to the human, circling her once again. 

Undyne walked closer to Sans. He quickly placed his mirror into the bag, strolling down the hallway. He hoped he wasn't seen. Just a few more steps and then-

“Hey!” She shouted, causing Sans to freeze. Dammit. 

He laughed nervously, turning himself around. “Hey, Undyne. How's it going? Everything going swimmingly?” 

Undyne stepped closer. “Were you listening to us?”

Sans held his hands up in defense. “What? No, no. I was just passing by. That's all.” 

“Yeah. Come here.” He pointed a finger at him, curling it back at her. He laughed, managing to take a few steps back. 

“Get your ass over here before I tell him.”

Sans eyed her, watching to see if she was lying. She kept her ground, waiting for him to come to her. Sans sighed, walking closer to her. They walked into the big room, Asgore continuing to shout at the human. Papyrus was standing aside, watching the human cry in pain. He was frowning, for a moment. 

“And you want to take away our freedom? Our hopes? Our dreams? Pathetic! You humans are all the same!” He shook his head. 

“Sir, he was just here.” He turned quickly to the two, frowning as soon as he saw him. 

“Sans. What were you doing?” 

“Oh, Gaster need some things from the closet.” Sans said, watching the human. She was fallen over, her slow breaths raising her chest up and down. Is that how breathing worked up there?

“Gaster? Gaster!” He shouted, placing his hands on his head. “Please, tell him we need the extraction done.”

Sans nodded. “Do you want me to take her there?”

Asgore raised an eyebrow. “Her?”

“The human, sir.”

“The guards will take it to the dungeon.”

“I think Gaster will want to see the human. Up close, rather.” Sans said, nodding his head. He was the only one agreeing to his statement. 

Asgore turned to Papyrus, pointing a finger at him. “Papyrus. You shall aid Sans by taking the human to Gaster's lab. Undyne, you need to make sure a cell is available. And Sans, remember what we all talked about.” He stared down the short skeleton, who sheepishly smiled back. “Take it away.”

Asgore sat back down in his chair, picking a book up off the counter beside him. Undyne raced off, leaving Papyrus to help the human up and take her away. Sans followed behind closely, watching the her stumble about. They made it down the hallway, the three walking in silence. Papyrus jumped at the sudden sound of his walkie talkie, clicking the button on the side. 

“We’re on our way, yes.” He paused, somehow making words from the garbled response. “Yeah, we’re almost there.”

Papyrus stopped, causing the little group who followed to stop as well. “Right now?” More muffled responses. “Are- are you sure?”

“Fine. I’ll be there shortly.” Papyrus hooked the walkie talkie back onto his belt, turning towards Sans. “Can you be responsible for one minute and continue taking the human down to its cell?”

Sans shrugged. “Sure Paps.”

Papyrus placed his hands on his hips. “Promise?”

“Would I ever break a promise?”

“No… but I-” Papyrus stopped, looking down the hall. “I have to go. An argument has erupted downtown.” Papyrus handed over the limping human, racing down the empty hallway. Sans held most of her weight, dragging her feet down the hallway. He looked over to her face, her green eyes closed, her face covered in tiny cuts and sweat. Sans sighed, opening his office door. He placed her in his chair, walking around his office. 

He didn't have anything to help her. Not even pain medication. He sighed. Guess he’ll have to help her out the old fashioned way. Magic. 

He rubbed his hands together, his eye igniting into a tiny blue flame. She stirred, an eye opening as soon as Sans began to place his hands on her. Both eyes shot open, her screams became muffled by Sans’ hand. “Shh.”

She struggled, Sans pinning her down to the chair. “I'm not going to hurt you. Just let me do this.” She eyed him, watching his caring expression. She sighed, loosening her tight muscles. She ached. All over. She wasn't even sure why she was still alive. That fall, combined with all the kicking and beating, she should be dead. 

Sans held his hands over her, her bruises and cuts healing before his eyes. Just enough so she could walk on her own. Everything else had to stay. 

He finally finished, leaving a decent amount of bruises left, but enough was gone for her to start walking again. She stared back at the short skeleton, who was chugging a bottle of blue liquid. Maybe it was water?

She looked around. There was a laptop, one opened with security cameras. They were placed all around, and she could recognize some of the places. She found a little badge hanging off of a chain, the gold plating forming a little star. Radios, snacks, tons of bottles full of that blue stuff were all over. Did he… rant out on her? Did he alert someone? Then why would he save her? Why would she feel somewhat better? 

He turned around, placing the bottle next to him. He grabbed the bag, slinging it around his back. He held a hand out, nodding to the door. “Common.”

She stayed on the chair, her eyes widening. Where was he going now? “Where are we going?”

“Just down the hall.” She recoiled. “No.”

“No?” He smiled. Boy was she in it now. “No.”

He laughed. “I'm not going to hurt you.”

“But maybe you’ll rant me out again.” She was starting to gain her confidence back. This one didn't feel like the others. He was actually giving her a chance. 

“What?” He looked around the room. The badge Papyrus had given him years ago to pretend like they were cops and the security cameras sort of made it look like he said something. “Oh. Ohhh.” He laughed. “Those things? Ha, that's a fake badge. Made it as a kid with my brother. Sorry about him by the way. Hopefully he was knight-ce to you.”

The girl still stared back at him, refusing to move. He sighed, sitting on the desk. “My names Sans. Yours is…?”

The girl continued to stare back at him silently. “Alrighty then. Well, mysterious girl who sorta just showed up, I'm a scientist. Well, more of an assistant scientist but I don't want to specify. See, right now, I'm supposed to be with Gaster. He's the actual Royal scientist. He has some weird chemistry to him.” He smiled, pointing some finger guns at her. He frowned as the girl took no humor in his puns. 

“Not much of a talker, are ya? That's alright, I'll just keep it quiet short.” He laughed, her expression not changing. 

He sighed. “Alright then, you do you. But don't come shying to me when things get rough.” He laughed again, the human taking no interest in his puns. He shrugged, leaving the room. He had to get to Gaster. Hopefully he hadn't killed himself yet trying to get inside the portal. 

She looked around the room, peering her head out. She saw Sans walking away. The hallways seemed to be empty. And huge. And this place was huge. It took them twenty minutes to get to where she was now. He was pulling further away. 

He was the only one who was nice to her. Maybe she could use him somehow to escape. Or maybe he was trapping her. She could hear the sounds of voices coming closer. She noticed the huge window in his door, his office leaving no place for hiding. Dammit. 

She ran after him, grabbing his shoulder. “Frisk.” She spit out between breaths. 

“So what made you decide to come frisking along?”

“I’ll leave.”

“Alright.” He continued walking despite her protests. She sighed, walking along with the short skeleton. What was she getting herself into. 

They walked a bit further, Frisk hesitant every time they had to turn a corner. It only made Sans laugh. He was watching her, really. Watching her nervous stepping, her hesitant trusting abilities, her wondering green eyes. She was going to get herself killed. She was probably one of those curious about everything types. She was bound to be caught. It would be hilarious… for a little while. 

They ‘rounded the corner, Sans pulling Frisk back. She stumbled onto him, pushing his arms off of her. 

“What the hell!” Sans shushed her. “Give me your arms.” He whispered to her, holding his hands out. She drew her hands back, giving him a questioning look. 

“Why?” 

“Do you want to die?” 

She scoffed. “It looks like I'm going to so why not. Lay it on me.”

“Just give them to me.” He reached for her arms, his fingertips brushing by her sweater. “Ew, no!”

He lunged again, grabbing one of her wrists tightly. She struggled against him, feeling the pressure on her wrist increase. “Relax. I just have to make it look like you were contained the whole time.”

She stared at him, watching his face. The pressure increased, her mind trying not to let him win. She broke, her arm relaxing, the pain slowly fading away. He grabbed her other arm, twisting it behind her back. She felt heavy objects hook onto her arms, ones that felt light directly afterwards. What was with this place? She couldn't tell heavy from light, but she could describe pain all day. She tried turning around, only seeing a faded blue glow. What the hell was this stuff made from?

Sans grabbed her chained hands, pushing her forwards. She stumbled, walking towards large doors. He paused, opening them up, pushing the girl inside. Closing the door, he walked away from Frisk, greeting a man in a lab coat. He looked similar to Sans, except much taller. His eyes were hollow, leaving black streaks from one of his eyes to his mouth. Frisk cringed. She didn't want to know what that stuff was. 

“Gaster, here.” Sans tossed the bag to the man now known as Gaster. He caught it, spinning around to grab a notebook. 

“Great! Pull the lever, I'm going to explore this new dimension!” He leaped around, standing in the middle of two large metal circles. Sans laughed, rubbing the back of his neck. 

“Heh, gonna have to wait, Gaster. Gorey has a new task for you first.” He stepped aside, presenting the girl to him. Gaster sighed. 

“Can't it wait?”

“He said as soon as possible.” Sans turned to Frisk. “Right, Fr-, er, human?”

Frisk stared back at the two, Sans’ smiling grin dropping. Gaster ignored the silent response, continuing the conversation. 

“Well, it’ll be a while. That machine hasn't been run in forever. It's bound to be broken.” Gaster said, blowing dust off of a few books. He flipped it open to a page, Frisk managing to make out a few symbols. They were weirdly shaped pictures. Did that mean something?

“I’ll tell him.” He said, turning to Frisk. “Eventually.”

He came close to her, unlocking the chains behind her. Her hands felt tingly, the blue glow left on her pale skin. She backed up from him, watching his actions. He laughed. “You got a bit. Might as well relax.”

She looked at the door, turning back to a frowning Sans. “Or escape. Your call. But if you escape, you’ll be dead a lot sooner.” She was quiet, weighing out her options. She was going to die out there, she didn't even have anything to defend herself with. And if she stayed here, she could watch her death machine being built. She turned back to Sans, who merrily shrugged, walking back to Gaster. Maybe she could find out somethings about them. Maybe she could manipulate her way out of here. 

She walked around, peering into different shelves and drawers. Green and red goo oozed out of the glass jars, each of them filled with different objects. Some looked like sticks, others were recognizable body parts like eyes and ears. She shuddered. There were more before her? The king had mentioned the need of seven souls… How many did they already have?

She continued walking around, flipping open notebooks and journals. Each of them were filled with unique pictures and doodles, but all were too scribbled to make out. What kind of language was this? These symbols didn't even make any sense together. A water droplet, a peace sign, a cross and a finger pointing at that cross? What in the world did that mean? Were they instructions? Were they code? Frisk flipped through more pages. Even more pictures. She shook her head, returning the book back to its rightful place. This was a confusing world. 

“So, what actually needs to be fixed?” She heard Sans’ deep voice as she flipped through different pictures. They were only a few, each picturing different monsters and a symbol message afterwards. 

“I have no idea. Let's power it up first.” 

Frisk pushed the pictures to the side, walking away from the desk. It wasn't much help if she didn't know how to read it. She found a cloth dropped to the wall, the old white battered sheet filled with a series of red and brown stains. Curious, she walked over to it, concerned about what was underneath it. She jumped back at the sudden sound, light from a rounded arm giving the room a dull glow. She lifted the curtain, the light growing brighter and brighter. Her eyes widened, her hand reaching her mouth. The machine behind her crashed, sounds of metal scraping and clashing filled the room. A red glow unfolded, leaving the wrinkled sheet with a highlighted set of stains. 

There were… hearts? In a vase? And they were different colors? She lifted the curtain again, Sans and Gaster arguing behind her. She counted the containers. One, two, three, four… six, seven… Six of them were filled. Each of the hearts burned a different color, blue, purple, orange, green. There was just one left. Did they…? No, no, they couldn't have. Did that mean…?

A hand was placed beside her head, deep nervous laughter was bellowed out. “Alright then, let's move away from here.” Sans gave a half hearted smile, pushing the girl away from the curtain. Her hands were effortlessly placed back around her hands, the weightless, yet heavy, blue glow chains were placed back on her hands. She was walked out of the room, her eyes squinting from the sudden change of light. 

She was mindlessly pushed along, her mind was racing with thought. They were farther along than she thought they were. Did she really need to possibly risk her life for the sake of monsters? What was their goal outside of the barrier anyways? 

Frisk was pushed into a cell, falling onto the soft carpeted floor. She looked around. A bed, carpet, a light? What kind of cell is this?

“Heh, sorry. Didn't mean to push you that far.” Sans said, walking inside with her. He left the door open, pulling a chair beside the door. He lounged out, stretching his hands above his head. 

“So, uh, sorry your death is delayed. Guess you’ll have to live me with for a bit.” He smiled at his pun, Frisk still clearly not amused. “Wow. Tough crowd.”

“Why?” She asked, not bothering to move off the ground. Sans looked at her funny. “Why?” He laughed. “What's that supposed to me-”

“Why do you guys need to cross the barrier that bad?” 

“Oh.” Sans rubbed the back of his neck. “Ohh. Oh, ok. I get it. You’re worried about the containers. Don-”

“What are you going to do when you cross? Fight? You guys will die. Why do you need to sacrifice humans to get across? Why do you need me?” She asked, her darting eyes now focusing on Sans. 

“Woah, slow down kid. I can only answer so many at a time.” He frowned. “Here. I'll just explain it. Maybe it’ll answer some of your questions.”

“Long ago, there were two races above. Where you came from. Humans and monsters. It was great. At least that's what I heard. I don't know, I've never actually been up there.” 

“Monsters and humans used to live together. Got along, bonded, ate some great food. What kind of food do you guys have up there?” Frisk remained quiet, causing Sans to sigh. 

“Alright then. But, for some odd reason, the humans got sick and tired of monsters. Probably because we kept scaring them at night or something.” Her eyes widened. “What? Was it something I said?”

She shook her head. “It’s just that when we were younger, we were told that there was… nevermind. Continue.”

Sans shrugged. “Humans started a war with us monsters. They took us out, left and right, leaving trails of dust everywhere.” He paused at her confused look. “Dust?”

He half heartedly laughed. “Yeah, uh, when monsters die, we don't do whatever you guys do. We sorta just pop.” He made an explosion with his hand. “And bam, dust everywhere.”

“But, after you guys won and stuff, some human decided to put a spell down. Trapped us all down here. Only humans could pass through. That's what me and Gaster have done our entire lives. Studying you guys. Trying to figure out why you can walk through but we can't. And, like I explained to you, it's because we turn into dust. Magic is too strong for us.”

“But human souls, you guys are something different. You guys have some power in ya, allowing you to pass. But only with help from a monster. You guys got this feeling to ya. Me and Gaster call it ‘determination.’”

“But Sans, was it?” She asked, sitting up straight. He nodded, signaling her to continue. “How do you guys know you need human souls, let alone seven of them to cross? Haven't you tried before?”

“We have. Couple of brave little monsters died for us to get that knowledge. We just knew we needed souls. So we started saving ‘em. Tried with one, then three. Nothing worked. So we picked seven. Hopefully that works.” 

“Wait, so you guys killed more than seven humans?” Her eyes began to fill with fear. Sans held his hands up. 

“Hey, let's not jump to conclusions. It's not that important anyways. What is important though, is that you-”

“Not important? You killed, I don't even know, probably hundreds of children and it's not important? It doesn't bother you at all?”

“It wasn't hundreds. It was more like twenty.” 

“Twenty?”

“Hey, listen to me. You wouldn't be here right now if I didn't take you into my hands. So just, leave it alone for now, okay?” He held a hand against his head, his breath quickening. Frisk watched him, her wide eyes and fear blocking out pretty much everything else. He didn't want to hurt her. She could tell now. Who else would sit here and tell her his story without hurting her in the process?

“Okay.” She said softly, dipping her head. He sighed, standing up. “I have to go help him out. I'll be back later tonight for your dinner.”

He walked out, closing the door slowly. He locked it, pausing before leaving. Frisk was alone. She needed that right now. She had things to sort out. She just needed time. 

“Did it cause any trouble?” Gaster asked, his voice muffled by the machinery he was surrounded by. 

Sans sighed. “No.”

“Hand me an 8 inch wrench?” 

**“Sure thing.” **


	2. The Dreams Of Many

The meal before her was like nothing she's ever seen, or tasted before. It was something similar to a hot dog, but Sans insisted it was a ‘hot cat.’ It wasn't exactly the same hot dog taste she remembered, slightly tangier in a way, but she ate it none the less. She was starving. Sans was the only person she sort of trusted around here. She would only accept things from him.

“Tastes good, right?” He asked, his beaming smiling always plastered across his face. Frisk didn't know how he kept smiling through all this. She nodded, giving a muffled response of approval.

“So,” she said, swallowing the bits of food, “Tell me about yourself.”

He laughed. “Isn't much to tell.”

“So. You're the only one around here who seems sane. I want to know who this seemingly normal guy is that's leading me around everywhere.”

Sans laughed. “Alright. Well, I'm Sans, and it is sansational to meet you.” He edged his shoulder, happy with his now slightly responsive audience. Someday these puns will catch on. “Incase you couldn't tell, being jokey and lazy is my thing. Annoys my brother, Papyrus, though. You’ve already met him. The tall skeleton who was walking you down earlier? That was him.”

“Oh.” She said, taking another bite out of her hotdog.

“He's the coolest. Wants to be part of the Royal Guard someday.”

“How come he isn't already?”

“He, well, isn't the best at being either royal or a guard. He has the heart of teddy bear. If you could figure out the stuffing of that.” She smiled, taking the last bite of her hotdog.

“It's nice.” He said, leaning back in his chair. “Having someone who actually appreciates your humor around.”

“Why? Do others not enjoy your puns?”

He laughed. “Not enjoy? You flatter me. They hate it. Especially Papyrus.”

“Oh.” She leaned against the backboard of her bed, draping her arms across her knees.

“So, how come you’re in this hole?” She cocked her head, causing Sans to throw a finger up at the sky. “Ya know, the hole you fell down?”

“Oh! Oh, I was dared to.”

“Dared to jump?”

“Ha, no. To climb this dumb old mountain. Everyone thought I couldn't. Proved them wrong, didn't I?” She short lived her boasting, falling quiet.

“Hey, kid. You alright?”

“Why do you call me that?”

“Nickname.” He said, watching her questioning look fall again. “Do you have people up there that would miss you? Like your parents? Aren't you worried about them?”

She shook her head. “No. Not really.”

“Why?”

“Not like they would miss me. Why miss them?”

Sans shrugged. “Fair point.”

“So what about you?” Frisk looked up at the question, taken aback. It was a long time since someone asked her that question. She completely forgot how to answer. Who was she?

“What about me?” She said, hoping to take the comedic route out of the question.

“Tell me about yourself.”

“You don't want that. You have to kill me, so don't get attached to me.”

Sans shrugged. “Just tell me.”

She sighed. Where did she even start? How did she even start? “Well, uh, I just said I don't really have any parents. I'm kind of homeless? And I don't really have any friends. And I just run around, hoping for a decent meal, I guess. Everyone thought I was weak and worthless. So I climbed the mountain.”

“But you said it was a dare.”

“It was!” She said overly defensive, falling back into her quiet state. “Just it wasn't made out loud. It was in my head. If I couldn't climb that mountain and make it back alive, what good was I?” She sighed, looking at his concerned expression. “But who cares? It's in the past, whatever.”

She fell quiet again, Sans watching her from afar. “You didn't have to do that, you know. To prove yourself anyways.”

“I know.”

“Hey! Sans?” The shorter skeleton whipped his head around, finding the owner of the new voice. A duo of taller monsters in suited armor stood before the door, peering into the cell.

“Why are you in there with that thing?” One of them asked, the two bouncing up and down. She could tell one of them was make by his voice. The other she was having a hard time with.

“Came to give the human her food.” He pointed to the empty plate.

“But it's empty.” The one with a shakier voice said, their bodies still bouncing up and down. Sans shrugged.

“Whoops. Didn't notice.” He turned around, grabbing the plate, and headed towards the door. After he closed it, the two guards swarmed him with questions.

“Are you alright?”

“Did you get hurt?”

“Did it attack you?”

Sans laughed, giving himself some space. “Nah, I'm alright. No bone breaking events went on.”

One of them groaned. The other piped up. “Bro, let's just chill out here.”

“Don't work yourself to the bone. They aren't going to pick any bones with you. Just leave them a skele-lone.” Sans chuckled as the other two began bouncing faster.

“Bro! I'm going!” The clearly male one stormed off, the other guard chasing after them. Sans turned towards Frisk, watching her beaming smile. At least someone enjoyed his comedy.

“How much damage is there?” Sans asked, looking over the dirty machine. It was rusty, the last time they used it was over six years ago. He brushed off some of the dirt, looking at the dismantled machine.

“More than I bargained for.” Gaster said, inspecting the broken pieces. “It’ll be a good few weeks.”

“Sorry, but turns out you got a few more weeks to live. Is that alright?” Sans asked jokingly, placing her breakfast before her. She smiled, taking a bit out of the made to order sandwich.

“I guess. If I have to.” Sans sat back down in his chair, watching over his shoulder for any incoming guards.

“Do we need anything new?” Sans asked, grabbing his clipboard from the desk. Gaster sighed. “Pretty much everything.”

“So a lot of metal.” He scribbled down an estimated amount, along with a few other noted things. He ripped the paper out of the clipboard, waving it around.

“Anything else?” Sans asked, taking the plate away from her. She shrugged. “Not really, no.”

“Alrighty then. Be back around lunch.” He said, walking out the door. He turned around, smiling at her. She actually smiled back. It took a while to get her here. Maybe having a human around wasn't so bad after all.

“No, that's probably it.” Gaster said, waving him out the door. “Just get that to Asgore as soon as possible.” He mumbled to himself about how this was a ‘huge interruption to his scientific studies’ and that he should ‘really be floating through time right now.’

“I will.” Sans said, tossing the note onto the counter. He wanted to hold the note out as long as possible. He was fascinated by Frisk, and not just for science. Her story, her personality, just her in general was something totally new for him, something totally unique.

“Why are you here all the time?”

“Are you complaining about it?” Sans asked, watching Frisk protest. “No, no. Just your a scientist. I’d thought you be in a lab all day.”

Sans shrugged. “You're more interesting than Gaster. He's just complaining. You laugh at me.”

She giggled. “I'm more interesting?”

“To talk to.” He said, stretching back in his chair. “Not to study, if that's what you were thinking.”

She grew quiet. “But, why would you want to talk to me? I'm going to die. I wouldn't want you to be sad or whatever.”

He leaned forwards, picking her chin up. She didn't flinch like she used to. “Hey, I don't really care about that. I just want to have a memory of someone who enjoyed my puns.”

“I'm just…”

“What? No, you're not.” He looked out the door. “I don't really want you to either.” He mumbled, his thought process falling flat. Something whipped by, a yellowish streak blurred his view. It was only a few seconds. He leaned a little, not seeing anything. Must have just been too caught up. He turned back towards Frisk, who was questioning him.

“It's nothing.” She stared him down once more, giving up after a moment.

“So, you really don't want me to be a memory?” She piped up, clearing the quiet tension, only bringing more.

Sans sighed, ruffling her hair. “No kiddo. Why would I want to lose a friend like you?”

“A friend?” She asked, her eyes filling with hope.

Sans laughed. “Yeah.”

She smiled, hugging the short skeleton. He smiled, allowing the girl to fall into his arms. Something about her made him smile. He liked that. Maybe a bit to much.

“Just a few more days and this will be done. Then we can get back on to our original project.” Gaster beamed, grabbing a few screws from the drawer.

Sans sighed. “Yay.”

“What? Are you not excited?”

“No, no I am. Just worried.”

Gaster stopped, staring back at him. “Sans, I already said I'd be fine.”

“I know.” Except it wasn't Gaster he was worried about now.

“So, the humans in good condition, right?” He said, a few buzzes and beeps coming from the machine. Sans leaned against the counter, watching Gaster tinker with the machine. “If it isn't, this isn't going to work right.”

“Yeah, they are.”

Gaster’s head emerged from the machine, looking over at Sans. “Is there a word of a new human?”

Sans raised an eyebrow. “What? No. Why?”

“No reason.” Gaster buried his head in the machine again.

“Gaster. Why?” Sans pushed himself off the table, walking closer to his friend.

“Sans, it's fine.”

“No, it isn't. Why do you want another human?”

He sighed, pulling himself out of the machine. “It's just that, I haven't actually fixed this yet. And I don't want to, really. So, because of that, there's a good chance that human and its soul are going to be destroyed. Only like a 60 ish percent chance.”

“A 60% chance?”

“I said ish!” Gaster came out of the machine, propping himself onto the table. “And if all else fails, I'll just take the remaining human soul and try to mash it together. Bam, human soul, we all win and get to leave.”

“And what happens if the soul is destroyed?” A little monster piped up, waiting for Undyne to answer her question. It was requested that Undyne came into teach a class about human souls and fighting techniques in the comfort of the castle battle room. It amazes the kids, really. Large, metal weapons hanging from walls, large glass windows tinting the room orange. What didn't amazed them amazed Undyne.

“Good question! If the soul is destroyed, then I would have to grab as many pieces as I can. It not be as strong as a whole soul, but it’ll be something.” She stood tall, walking to the mats on the ground. “Pick one of these guys.”

The children raced to a mat, eager to learn and practice the moves of the greatest warrior. “I'm going to teach you guys to be strong!”

“Yeah!” The children yelled back, their eagerness bursting.

“I'm going to show you how to be courageous!”

“Yeah!!”

“I'm going to show you how to destroy humans! So that they won't stand a chance against any one of you!”

“Yeah!!!”

“I'm going to show you how to crush their souls!”

The children cheered, jumping about. Their cheers were silenced though, watching as the king of the underground walked in. They watched intently, a few of them gasping. This was a sight to see. The king AND the greatest warrior in the same room.

“Now, Undyne. Let's not get carried away.” He leaned in close. “Like last time.”

Undyne laughed nervously. “Ha ha, yeah. Right. Sorry sir.”

“It's alright.” He turned towards the children. “Now who wants to be tough like Undyne?”

The children cheered, waiting for Undyne to share her knowledge.

“No, we can't.” Sans said, his stare narrowing down at Gaster.

“Yes, we can.”

“You're not going to do this, Gaster.” Sans said, Gaster pulling back from the machine.

“Why, Sans? 40% is close enough, it’ll be fine. We’ll just take extra precautions or whatever. And then hopefully she doesn't explode.”

Sans cringed. “Explode?”

“I mean,” he said, burying himself back into the machine. “It's a possibility. Hopefully not though. Sooner I can get him off my back the better.”

“Shouldn't you at least fix it to be 75% maybe? Just so it'll work better?”

“No. I honestly don't care. There’ll be more after that human if we mess up. Just let's finish it and get to our original job.”

Sans stared down the oblivious man. “But I really think we should-”

“No, we shouldn't. Don't you care about our future achievements?” He paused, looking back at Sans.

“Well, yeah, but-”

He turned back to the machine. “So you agree with me that we should get started on that as soon as possible.”

“No, not really.” Gaster stopped, pulling his vision from the screws around him. “You…?”

“I don't think we should just blow over a job, especially one from the king, just so you can do whatever it is you’re going to do.”

“Who cares about the king? He can keep waiting. They’ve proven to be pretty good at it.”

Sans eyed him. “You're going to crush the dreams of everyone out there just so you can go scribble in an alternate universe?”

“Yes, Sans, I am.” He placed a hand on his hip. “And it's not scribbling, it's taking well educated notes.”

Sans rolled his eyes. “Sure. But I'm not letting you hurt he- the human. It’s,” he almost had to force the word out. He didn't attach to her like she said, ha he? “It is too valuable to the underground to just recklessly kill.”

“Recklessly smecklessly. And I said a chance. You are making this whole thing a huge deal. Just leave it alone and go get the human. We gotta hurry this up.” He walked over to the tool box. “I want to be in there by tonight.”

“No.” Sans stood tall, tightening a fist growing by his side. Gaster turned around, his eyes narrowing on him. “No?” He took a few steps closer, watching Sans sweat. What was he doing? Why was he doing this? He knew how much trouble he would be in… Boy was he in for it.

“No?” Gaster asked again, growing closer to Sans. Sans tried holding his ground, failing a bit. “No.” He piped out, his voice growing shaky.

“Really, Sans? No? You're not going to do as I ask?” He said, his body a few feet away from Sans’. “I mean, I can go read back that contract. I'm pretty sure, and correct me if I'm wrong,” he walked over to a bookshelf, his finger running against the spines of each book. “That section 76, paragraph 8, line 1253 says that you have to follow my orders. I mean, you are the assistant scientist after all.” He dropped a book on the counter, the papers around it flying up.

“But, I could be wrong. I don't know, assistant. Check it out for me.” He grinned. “Or are you going to rebel against that too?”

Sans felt his body shake, his hand dropping. He could fight back, he could stand up. He had to stay cool. He had to keep calm. Gaster smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Good, Sans. You wouldn't want those powers of yours gone, would you? I mean, that is why you agreed to help me out, right? Because,” he walked around him. “Without your powers, how are you supposed to keep your baby brother safe?”

“Y-you need to control me to get them back.”

“I know Sans. And I have my ways.” He grinned, walking back to the desk, picking the book back up. “Human. Now.”

He couldn't say no. He had to help Papyrus. But, he stupidly gotten close to Frisk. He liked her. She was the only real friend around her. Everyone else either had him held at his tongue or didn't even know him. But he so wanted to say no. “I… I won't.” What was he doing? What about Papyrus? What about…?

“Last chance. Get the human.”

Sans shook his head. Sorry Papyrus. He would understand. He couldn't even handle the abuse she was getting by the king. Sans knew. He could tell. He would understand. He might understand. Maybe he would understand. “I'm not getting her.”

“What's with all this pronoun use? The human doesn't deserve pronouns! They are beneath us, the deserve not of it.” Gaster said.

“Because, I happened to get to know her. And she's a really nice girl.”

Gaster laughed. “You-you what? Got to know her? Oh yeah? Tell-tell me about her.” He said in between wheezes.

Sans knew the game he wanted to play. Sans wasn't about to play. “You're not going to hurt Frisk.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, alright.”

Sans stared back in disbelief. “Wait, really?”

“Well, yeah. I mean we obviously can't hurt your friend, that would be wrong.”

Sans smiled, not letting his guard down just yet. Something was up. “Um, thanks, I guess.”

“Yeah, no problem Sans. Can you do me a favor though?”

“Yeah?”

“Go talk to Asgore. Tell him we’re going to need a few days. The machine is,” He used his fingers as quotes. “‘Broken.’”

Sans waited a moment, immediately being shooed out the door by Gaster. “Go, go.” The door closed behind him, leaving Sans in the empty hallway once again.


	3. Is It Torture?

Sans tore the packaging, grabbing the new lab coat. He smiled, throwing it on. It hugged his shoulders a little, but he enjoyed the long, flowy jacket. He spun around, his eyes widening. They were long enough to whack people with. This was the best jacket ever.

He raced into the kitchen, pouring himself a bowl of monster cereal. It was pretty much human cereal but with little chocolate covered pieces in it… or so it advertised. No one knew for sure.

Papyrus walked in, frowning. “I was going to make breakfast.”

Sans shrugged. “Sorry bro.”

“No worries, Sans.” He opened the cabinet, pulling out a bowl. He smiled seeing Sans in his lab coat already. “You know you don't work there until next week, right?”

“I know. But if I hadn't put it on now, I couldn't do this!” He jumped up, swinging the ends of his coat to hit Papyrus. He ran around the room, eventually leading to an out-of-breath Sans. He was hunched over, panting. “It's not… t-that fair. You have long legs.”

Papyrus struck a pose. “The great Papyrus wins once again!”

Sans laughed. “Nice job, bro.”

He tapped on the door. The large doors opened, Sans awing up at them. This was all new for him. Papyrus on the other hand, this was the usual. A female guard stood before the two, staring down at Sans.

“Papyrus, why is he here?” She eyed Sans, who looked back up at her. How did someone already hate him? He hadn't even been there a day yet.

“He is working for Gaster, Undyne.” Papyrus chirped back, oblivious to her crude tone.

“Right…” She rolled her eyes. “Hey, Papyrus?”

“Yes, Undyne?” He looked up at her, his eager eyes awaiting her command. “Can you go to the practice room? Since you’re here early, we might as well get a few extra minutes in.”

He bounced up and down, racing down the hallway to the practice room. She laughed, watching him until he turned the corner. She turned back to Sans, her smile falling. “Follow me.”

She turned around, walking down the hallway. Sans followed, shutting the door behind him. He ran a bit to catch up to her, hearing her scowl. “So, you're the new assistant?”

Sans nodded. “Yup.”

“Have fun.” She laughed, leading him through the doors.

He raised an eyebrow. “Why? What is he doing?”

“Let's just say the last guy bailed because of this experiment.”

Sans became increasingly worried, raising a hand to ask questions. He was shut down, finding out they reached their destination. She laughed, opening the door. She turned around, leaving him alone.

He went inside the door, gazing around the room. The ceiling toward, echoing each little sound he made. He quickly realized he was going to have a hard time being quiet in here. Tool cabinets and desks lined the walls, each of them messy and full. The room was opened for the most part, a few huge metal machines hidden under a blue blanket. There wasn't any wall windows, only the huge overhead window that lit the whole room up. It was great. A little bland (they could have at least painted the walls some other color than white, white floors and a white wall? Really?), but great.

He searched, finding no one inside. Was he not supposed to be here just yet? He looked towards the door, seeing no sort of sign hanging on it. He shrugged, walking over to the little desks. He lightly shuffled through the papers, trying to get a sense of what the scientist may be doing. Little symbols decorated the entire page, intermingling with little doodles. He recognized a few of them, the open mailbox with letters inside was punctuation and the peace sign was an A. He wasn't really too fluent with that language though. A few words here and there, but other than that he was blind.

“Oh!” He wiped around, watching a tall man in the very same lab coat he was wearing stroll in, his surprised face giving Sans a bit of shock. He wore a navy blue sweater underneath, bringing out his pale white skin. His eyes were hollow, the black caverns, each of his eyes having a black line come from them.

Was he going to be mad that he was picking through his stuff? “Hi, you must be Sans.” He spoke foreignly, Sans questioning him.

“I'm sorry, what?” Sans asked, the man looking at him confused, and then extremely worried.

“They… didn't teach you?” He said, his language still unidentifiable to Sans. He thought he understood ‘you,’ but he wasn't sure.

He pointed to the book, talking again to Sans. He still didn't know what he said. “Can you understand written?”

Sans looked to where he was pointing, seeing some of the symbols he recognized earlier. Was he trying to communicate that way? Sans nodded, watching the tall man race around for a pencil. He pulled a sheet of paper over, ‘writing’ down his words. It took Sans a bit to understand, he only knew so many letters. But, eventually, the two were talking (through writing) back and forth.

My name is Gaster.

Sans.

You know what I am saying?

Only writing.

You're not fluent?

No.

How do you know writing?

Taught by friend.

Ah. I see. You should visit Asgore to learn the spoken language.

Asgore…?

The king. He is very kind. He would tell you the basics. Then we could talk verbally.

Ok. Where is he?

I will show you.

Gaster put the pencil down, motioning to the door. He lead Sans down the hallways, taking him through twists and turns. Sans noticed the lack decoration. The only patterns in the room where the golden patterns of the stained glass windows. It was pretty though.

They entered another large room, the outer walls lined with golden flowers. There was the same stained glass windows, ones decorated with a symbol Papyrus showed him. If he remembered right, it was the Royal symbol? He wasn't sure though.

There was a large man standing on the far wall, watering the flowers. His purple robe covered most of his body, the light highlighting his white fur. His horns curled around in front of him, his gentle caring face talking softly to the flowers.

“Still beautiful as always.” He whispered, humming a little tune. Gaster raised a hand to stop Sans. Sans stopped, watching him walk to the large goat/man.

“Asgore?” Gaster said, Sans still unknowing of his words. At this point, it would be a one sided conversation he would hear.

“Oh!” He jumped, turning towards Gaster. “Oh, Gaster. Howdy!”

“Hi, I want you to meet Sans.” Gaster turned around, pointing at Sans. Sans stood there, suddenly realizing maybe they were talking about him. Asgore offered a wave, Sans waving sharply.

“Oh.” Asgore leaned in, whispering something to Gaster, to which they both laughed at. Sans stood awkwardly in the middle of it all, listening to Asgore’s deep voice, trying to make sense of the conversation.

“He is going to need some help with my spoken language. Can you teach him?”

Asgore laughed. “Of course!” He turned to Sans, offering him a huge smile. “Sans, if you follow me, I can teach you his language. Then, you guys can build great things!”

It took a while, but Sans eventually figured out enough words to get by. He wasn't fluent, and he was a little ways into speaking it back to Gaster, but he knew enough to listen to Gaster’s orders. It became that way for a while, Gaster spitting out random tasks and assignments and Sans completing them without little complaints. Only because he literally couldn't complain.

He never understood what Undyne meant. Nothing ever happened. The only things they did were little off side tasks that Sans could understand.

He had enough words to communicate with each other, so the two got to know each other. Sans told Gaster that he was related to Papyrus, who Gaster had heard many stories about. Sans found out some things about Gaster. He wasn't as open as Sans was about family (well, specified family), and he sure as hell wasn't as open as Sans was in general. But Sans learned how driven Gaster was, and how persistent he could be. Sometimes it scared him.

“So, Papyrus seemed to be extremely happy today.” Gaster said, sitting around in Sans’ brand new office. It was given to him as a gift from Gaster for learning his language. Sans didn't mind, it was somewhere to keep his stuff.

“Yeah.” Sans said, placing the little police badge on a hook. He loved that thing. “He gets to work with Undyne again.”

“He's still trying for a spot in the guard?”

Sans nodded. “Never stopped trying. He's been great. Sometimes I worry about it though. He's too much of a softy to do anything.”

“Could he get hurt?” Gaster said, leaning back in the chair.

“Not with me around. And I made Undyne swear nothing bad would happen.”

He smiled. “You really care for him, don't you?”

Sans nodded. Gaster's grin grew. “What if I told you there was a way to make sure he never got hurt.”

“But I already have a way.” Sans said, more little things out of the box. Most of them were reminded him of Papyrus and him.

“Alright. I just thought you would want to make sure yourself, and not trust other people. I know you think she is shady.”

Sans eyed Gaster. “I never said that.”

“I can tell.” Sans paused, then hesitantly continued to take out more objects.

“What did you mean I can save him myself?” Sans said, looking back at Gaster.

He smiled. “You could have the power to save him yourself. And in some cases, literally.”

“How?”

“Well, that's the part you might not like. With my calculations-”

Sans stopped. “Wait, calculations?”

“Yeah. It's sort of an experiment I've been working on.”

“What… how would it work?”

He sighed. “I would have to inject some stuff in you. Then, if you can harness your powers, you can protect your brother.”

“I do want to protect him…”

“Exactly!” Gaster said, placing a hand on his back. “Thus why you should take every precaution.”

Sans sighed. What was he even getting himself into? He was strapped on a table, his arms and legs pinned down with large straps. Gaster came back with a needle, full of a blue liquid. Sans nervously eyed the large needle, watching Gaster.

“Uh, so where does it go?”

“Just hold still.” Gaster said, placing a hand on his chest. He couldn't pull up. “Gaster…”

He watched the needle pull close to his face, his body breaking out in sweats. “Gaster!”

“Just.. stay still!” He fumbled with the needle, pressing it into his eye. Screams filled the air, Sans’ body desperately fighting, trying to get the forge in object out of him. The needle escaped, Gaster pulling himself off, leaving Sans crying in pain.

“Ready for the other eye?” Gaster asked, trying to hide his humor.

“Are you fucking kidding me? No! No!” Sans pulled at the straps, trying to hold his eye. His body fell still, the pain suddenly vanishing. Gaster looked at him worried, watching Sans fall into a pit of darkness.

His eyes fluttered open, finding himself still strapped to the table. Gaster was pacing around him, mumbling things.

“Oh I've killed him haven't I?” Gaster said, pacing around.

“Gaster…?” Sans asked, looking over at the worried man. His face brightened, rushing over to him.

“Oh Sans I thought you died.” He said, his voice moving too fast for him to understand. His head ached, Gaster loosening the straps. He shook his arm out, holding his eye. There wasn't anything coming out from it. It was just an eye.

“How are you feeling?”

“Tried.” Sans said, laying back down on the table.

“What happened to your body?”

Sans checked his hands, not bothering to get up. “Nothing yet.”

“Can you harness anything?”

Sans tried, but he wasn't sure what to do. Nothing happened. Gaster sighed. “Another experiment gone wrong. I'm so sorry Sans.”

Gaster helped him off the table, walking him down the hallway. They were looking for Papyrus, trying to alert his brother of what sort of happened. Sans knew that the full truth would send him flying, so just enough so he would sort of understand.

They found him, Undyne throwing spears at him. Sans eyed Papyrus, watching him dart and dodge around them. Papyrus was laughing, trying hard to make Undyne proud. He noticed Sans, waving at him.

“Hi Sans-” He was mid wave when he got hit, hit body dropping to the ground. Minus 8 HP. Sans darted over to Papyrus, holding his aching body. Undyne scoffed, yelling at Papyrus.

“Are you alright?” Sans asked, checking over his body for any cuts.

“Yes, I think I'm alright.” Papyrus replied, dusting some of the dust off of him.

“Common, shake it off, we got work to do!” Undyne yelled at them. Sans turned to her, his voice angry.

“Aren't you going to apologize?”

“Sans, it's alright.” Papyrus said, holding his head. “I'm alright.”

Sans eyed Undyne, helping Papyrus up off the ground. “I-I think I'm going to go lie down.” Gaster went over to him, hoisting an arm over his shoulder. Papyrus fumbled out of the room, Sans nervously watching his brother leave. He opened the door, staring back at Sans. His hurt face, yet reassuring hurt Sans. She was going to get it. He didn't care if it was his first day.

“You son of a bitch.” He thrusted a finger at Undyne, her devilish smile growing.

“What? He's fine.”

His hands tightened, his eyes narrowed. “He could have gotten hurt. And you just wanted him to shake it off?” He took a few steps closer to her, her posture getting taller. Sans was a nervous wreck. He didn't back down, though. This was his brother. His only family. No one hurt him.

She shrugged. “Yeah? And?”

“And that's stupid! That's dumb! That's-”

“Listen, Sans, was it? He's going to get hurt. It's part of training. You're just going to have to stop being a baby about it and let him do his thing.

“You're not going to do it ever again.” Sans threw his hands at her, emphasizing his words. His rage boiled, his body broke out in sweats. He felt surges of energy, his body practically on fire. Undyne raised an eyebrow, watching as blue erupted from his hands and eye, bursting out multiple bones and fiery blue magic at her.

She tried ducking out of the way, a bone pinging her right in the arm. She screamed, falling down to the ground. Sans lowered his hand, the magic bones disappearing. His breaths were heavy, his body was shaking. He looked over to where Undyne was, his shock destroying his anger. Did he do this? Did he…?

No. No, he couldn’t have. There wasn’t anyway. It was impossible!

Undyne groaned in pain. Sans snapped his head over to her, rushing up to her. “Oh my gosh are you okay?”

She pushed him off of her, sending a look to him. “How did you…?”

Sans slammed his hands on to his head, dropping any posture that was with him. His body whipped up upon hearing the startled voices of Gaster and Papyrus, who could now walk on his own without falling over. “What’s going on?” Gaster asked, looking over the situation.

“Sans threw tons of-”

“Tons of killing blows. Heh, right?” He edged her side, desperately trying to reason with her.

“Yeah.” She spat out. “Right.”

Gaster eyed Sans, watching his nervous expression trying to sell the story. Papyrus slowly walked over, afraid to ask the question he was dying to ask. Undyne noticed, laughing. “I’m alright. So is he.”

He let out a sigh of relief, helping the two up off the ground. Sans rubbed the back of his neck, feeling the fury from Undyne being plumbled onto him. “Get out of here, punks. Papyrus and I need to get back to training.”

Sans nodded, grabbing Gaster. He pulled him out of the room, trying to avoid eye contact with her as much as possible. “Wait-! Sans!” Gaster yelled at him, attempting to escape. Sans held his wrist hard, not allowing his tiny wrist to escape. They entered the hallway, closing the door behind them.

“Sans! What the hell!” Gaster yelled, throwing a hand up in the air. Sans ignored him, continuing down the hallway to the lab. “That was important information back there that you dragged me away from!” Gaster called after him, running after Sans who refused to stop.

“Sans! Listen to me!”

“We’ll talk about it at the lab, alright?” He said, not bothering to look back up at him.

“Alright.”

“So, how did it happen?” Gaster asked, lowering the table so Sans could hop atop it.

“I don’t know, really. I just got mad, and sorta threw my arm and then bam.” He threw his arm at Gaster to show what he did, only to have Gaster flinch in response.

“What happened when you did that?” He said from afar, taking notes on a clipboard.

“A lot of blue. She was hit from these bones that appeared out of nowhere. Then, once I stopped being angry, they vanished.” He said, looking down at his arms. “If i didn’t stop being mad at her, something else would have happened. I could feel it.”

He scribbled at his notepad. “Interesting.” He got up, checking different vital signs. “Well, everything is normal. If that’s any relief to you.”

Sans shrugged. “Sorta.”

“I’ve never seen powers like this before. Emotion controlled, that’s how yours works.” Gaster helped him off the table, backing up from him.

“Try it again.” Sans turned to him, shocked. “What? No.”

“You need to be able to control these things. Otherwise you could hurt someone.”

Sans sighed. “Fine. But you gotta make me mad again.”

“I want to see different emotions and what they do. Hold on just a moment.” He ran to his telephone, ringing to another line. Sans stared back his hands. What if he couldn’t control it? What if he hurt someone?

“What do you need, Gaster? I’m sort of busy right now.” Sans turned to the familiar voice, finding the same fish lady in more casual clothing. When she spotted him, she shot him down, completely ignoring him.

“You have to help me out a bit. Can you make him sad? Or angry?”

“You called me down to play therapist?” She asked irritated.

“Well when you put it like that…” Gaster said, ducking his head. He grabbed the clipboard again, sitting down on his swivel chair. Undyne sighed. “Fine. But i want some sort of cut from this.”

“I can get you better armour.”

“And I can get you a new test dummy. New deal.” She said, standing ground. She wasn’t willing to back down just yet.

“Fine. Half of this month’s pay.”

She nodded her head. “Now that’s more like it. Alright punk. What do you wanna feel first? Crippling pain or sadness?”

Sans shuddered. “Sadness?”

She cracked her knuckles. “Got it.”

Over the next hour and a half, Sans went through an emotional rollercoaster. Somehow, Undyne was able to hit close to home with everything she said, whether she was trying to get him as depressed as possible or as happy as a child on their birthday. He learned a lot about himself, too.

First, he mentally agreed never to do this ever again. Having people being able to make him cry within minutes and recording his actions wasn’t a keen idea of his. He hated it. Sometimes that was why he was angry. He just wanted to punch her face and tell her to shut up. But he couldn’t being held back by little chains on his ankles. Gaster thought ahead, and apparently Sans didn’t.

Second, he learned a lot on his newfound powers. If he was just feeling regular emotions, he couldn’t really do much of anything with his powers. Sometimes the occasional eye glow would erupt, but for the most part, he couldn’t really do anything. He noticed that when his feelings started to get more intense, that was when the cool things happened. Anger mostly, but sometimes his excited attitude could contribute to the awesome summoning he could do. Of course, he had his magic flying bones that he could control to go anywhere, and he was getting better at stopping them too. It was the other two things that surprised him.

If he was angry or happy enough, he could summon these bone-like monsters, to which would open their jaws and fire blue laser beams at whatever he wished. He realized he could mentally think what he wanted to hit instead of saying it out loud. So, of course he messed around with the two, firing laser beams near but not hitting them. Their reactions were priceless. Jumping all over the place in fear or panic. It was great. Gaster decided to call them ‘gaster blasters,’ only to which Sans could assume was named after him. Because ‘he was the creator of these powers, therefore his name gets to be in it.’ Sans only assumed the blaster part came from rhyming. That man was weird. But Sans had to admit, it was pretty cool sounding, so he kept the name for himself.

The other thing Sans realized he could do was capture souls. No one even knew that this was possible. Sans could only do it when he was angry. It was simple to do, actually. He just had to extend his hand out to where their chest is, and by closing his hand, he could capture the soul. He discovered it on accident, Sans reaching his hand out and closing it into a fist, scaring Undyne when he usually green colored soul turn blue. She screamed, Sans dropping his fist, watching her fall to the ground. Tears staining his face, he got curious, lifting his fist, watching as Undyne’s screaming body followed his fist. He toyed around for a bit, eventually getting it to be so that Undyne thought it was cool being able to float. He accidentally let go of his fist, Undyne’s soul turning back to green, her resting body smacking the ground. He laughed, only to be stopped by her death stare.

After an hour and a half of finding out the cool things he could do, he was exhausted, both emotionally and physically.

“Yeah, alright. It is pretty late. You guys can go. Thanks Undyne.” Gaster said, placing his clipboard on the table.

Undyne made a fist, bringing it close to her body. “Sweet! See ya!” She spun around on her heels, heading for the door.

“Wait, Undyne.” Sans piped up. She paused, turning around to face Sans. “You can’t tell Papyrus about these powers. Either of you.”

Gaster looked confused. “Why not? Wouldn’t you want your brother to know?”

Sans shook his head. “No. He would freak out. You would be gone in an instant, Gaster.”

“Alright, so how does this pertain to me?” Undyne said, leaning against a nearby wall.

“Because,” Sans said, staring back at her. “You see him everyday. You can’t tell him either. He can’t know.”

Gaster sighed. “If that is what you want.”

“Promise me, guys.” Sans said, looking concerned at the two. Gaster had no problem promising. Although he wanted to tell Papyrus, he wouldn’t for Sans’ sake. He could only imagine Papyrus’ reaction.

“Fine. I promise. But-” Undyne started, being cut off by Sans.

“There isn’t a but to this.”

“I’m going to use this as a threat against you, you know. Or make you cry again. Either or works for me.” She smiled.

“Promise not to tell?”

“Only if I get to do those things.”

Sans pursed his (non-existent) lips. “Fine.”

“Good. I promise not to tell him.”

Sans shook his head. Maybe he was reacting to much to this. But he knew that Papyrus would lose his mind. If something happened to Sans, Papyrus would risk his life trying to stop it. That was his main worry. If Sans was trying to save him, and he accidentally got hurt…

“Alright. I’m going home.” Sans closed his eyes, feeling the magic within him swell. When he opened his eyes, he arrived at his house. He smiled. Teleporting. Awesome.

“Did you have fun, brother?” Papyrus called from the kitchen, the air filling with the smells of his homemade sauce.

Sans nervously laughed, sighing. “Yeah bro.”


End file.
